Only then did Empress Athena notice Abium and blink her eyes in surprise.
After that, she gave him a deep look and asked pleasantly.
"How did you find out I was the Empress of Bidora Empire? Also, how did you come to a conclusion that I'm currently in a sealed state?"
Abium looked at her with a daze for a moment and said calmly.
"Sorry, Your Majesty. It is one of my secrets. I won't reveal it to you even if you force me."
The next moment, his expression froze and then turned into shock.
At that moment, he saw the trees starting to fade like smoke and soon found himself in a room filled with a long wooden table and wooden chairs. Next to him was Empress Athena.
She stood while nodding and soon sat on one of the luxurious chairs on both sides of the long table.
'I forgot that answering her question will allow her to pull me into the dream world!'
"Just call me Athena or my lady. I'm not an Empress, just a hopeless woman waiting to take revenge for my love." Athena muttered in a sad tone and turned her head towards him.
After that, she curled her lips up and spoke with a smile.
''Please sit, Elven child. First, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing back my husband's body. For that, I owe you a big favor.'' She paused for a bit and continued,
''I will answer any questions for ten minutes without any charge. Although I could only answer your questions for only five minutes now, you can come back once again to this place five years later and ask other questions. You woke up my locked memories this time by showing my husband's body. So, I can remain in this state for only five minutes. Please ask your questions before I fall into my half-sleep state.'' Upon hearing her words, Abium nodded anxiously and asked.
"How did you know about my mother?" That was Abium's most concerning question. As if she had expected, she replied with a chuckle.
"Like you, I also have divinities. Before his death, my husband gave these divinities to me and asked me to protect it until a successor arrives. All this time, I'm wandering in this forest and still waiting for all those candidates to finish the mission. My divinities are Dream divinities. With these divinities, I will be able to enter ones' dream and could be able to read some of their memories through dreams." She said with a mischievous smile.
Abium's expression turned gloomy as he heard those words and asked anxiously.
"So, you can also able read my memory? But even I don't know my mom's name, right? Then, how did you know?" Abium got more puzzled inside and asked.
"You are wrong, elf. Your memories about your mother are still hidden deep inside your Sea of consciousness. Moreover, I also saw your mother's dream once, so it is an easy job. Although I was in a deep sleep all this time, I was well aware of what is happening outside through my Dream domain power."
"I have the power to enter anyone's dream willingly and even able to kill him if I want. But there are still a few peoples who have their own secrets like you, and they have the ability to hide a few things from me. I'm always watching this kingdom in the shadows through everyone's dreams for more than a millennium. Normal humans and even mages wouldn't be able to hide their secrets from my power." She said proudly.
At the same time, Abium suddenly thought of another stalking goddess and shivered.
'Damn! This kingdom has too many stalkers.' He stared at her with cold sweat and asked once again.
"So can you tell me where I can find my mother?"
She stared vacantly at the ceiling for a few moments and then answered with a nod.
"I will tell you the information I gathered from watching your mother's dream on the day she put you at the Roseglen city's Nature Temple entrance. From her dressing style and how she speaks, I can tell she is probably from the Zistedel Empire. Hmm, she is a half-elf and has golden hair like yours' and seems to be working under some big mage family. She is crying while holding you in both arms, and it appears your father lost everything through a bet.'' She stopped for a second and replied with a solemn look on her face.
"I think your father lost everything, including your mother, in a bet or duel and became a slave for a big family. I can feel the grief when your mother heard the news. After realizing the seriousness, she chose to hide you in this kingdom so that you won't become a slave for a mage family." She ended her speech, leaving Abium stunned.
'Slave?' Abium got angry at his unknown father and clenched his fist.
His amber eyes suddenly became watery as he realized why his mother had left him at the Nature Temple entrance. Although he hadn't seen her, he could clearly understand the meaning behind her actions.
'She did all that to protect me, huh?' All the anger and frustration swelled up in his heart at that moment vanished completely. Instead, it was filled with full of hope and expectations.
But what worried him most was the name of the Empire.
Zistedel Empire!
It was one of the Holy See's closest allies. Abium even heard that the Emperor of Zistedel was the Light Church's firm devotee and frowned deeply. At first, he thought of going to the Arcane Empire to stay low for a few years, but he changed his plan when he heard about his mother.
"You have four more minutes." As he was thinking, Athena's words woke him up suddenly.
He quickly stopped his thoughts and asked his next question hurriedly.
"Do you know the real identity of the 'Watcher'?"
Once again, she looked up at the ceiling and started talking.
''That baby once visited this forest a few months ago along with a goblin. When I tried to pull him into my dream, he quickly ran away with that goblin's help. But he had a smell of Abyss in his body. That child must be an avatar of some demon lord or a real fallen demon lord who managed to reincarnate in our plane to rise using this chaos era." Her simple words made Abium shaken. What does the title Demon Lord mean? It means that the Watcher was an absolute god! Or maybe a former god!
"3 minutes more," Empress Athena didn't give him time to think deeply.
Meanwhile, Abium nodded at her reminder and asked.
"Do you have Sunrise shackle potion formula?" Although he could use Death Cane's ability to break the shackle, he didn't want to place his full hope on that artifact.
This time, Empress stopped, hesitated a bit, and talked.
"Yes, I will tell you the potion recipe, so memorize it carefully.
Main ingredients- Red leaf-1, Two drops of Elite Mermaid's blood, 3.5 grams of moon sugar, and 1 gram of powdered skull bone of a 1,000-year-old elf.
Potion concoction method:– Boil the Red leaf using 100ml of Endless seawater for 4 minutes 32 seconds at a temperature of 45.6 degrees. Then, add two drops of Mermaid's blood and 3.5 grams of moon sugar. After two seconds, add one gram of powdered skull bone of a 1,000-year-old elf and cool it down.
Reminder: Drinking this potion during Sunrise will help you successfully break through into the next tier."